Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-07-25
OUR JURY SCANDALS.

OSA sOhA oNANOhAO.
When there is failure Of substantial Jus
tice through misuse of the jury system, it
is popular to assail the system itself as at
fault. Men in their heat are too prone to
condemn the machinery Of the law when
its Encouragement is due only to admin
istrators of the law. That Sacramento
county is gaining an unenviable notoriety
abroad for failure of iuries to convict is
not to be denied 1t is notorious that our
juries defy instructions and the law, and
render verdicts in the very teeth of evil
dence, or fail to agree where there ought
to be no shadow of doubt From Police
Court to Superior Court, these shameful
results are from time TO time recorded. We
have the remarkable instance now pre-
scented of a confessed criminal securing his
clearance through the deplorable weak
ness, or the corruption. of jurors, and
yielding up to his victims at the same
time the money which he was charged
with having stolen from them The
Court that presided over the panel does
not hesitate to declare from the bench that
the verdicts referred to are outrageous, and
while discharging the defendant to ex-
press Its firm conviction of his guilt.
We but reflect the general sentiment
when we say that there is corruption in
the handling of jurors in Sacramento
county, and that it must be broken up
once and for all, or local anarchy
win ensue. The thing has gone too
far. 1t must be made possible to hunt
the professional jurymen, the sgeak
and the vicious, out of the panels; it
must be possible to secure from our Super
visors lists Of citizens whose names will
put the verdicts of juries drawn FROM them
beyond reproach. If it is true that the lists
as made up are open to the suspicion of be-
ing selected with view to probable YER
diets Of acquittal, then there must be such
radical reform that the suspicion will
hereafter have no possible foot to stand
upon. If it is true that the ballots can be
so manipulated-by reason of chosen ones
being secured by bit Of adhesive mix
-ture to the inner walls of the box,
or h. peculiarly folded. ballots sensible
to discrimination by touch-that any
given name can be drawn at will, then
the whole machinery Of the drawing must
be revolutionized, and the agents that
make corruption easy, got so far out Of the
way that the community will utterly lose
sight of them rs factors in the judicial sys-
item.
The statement comes 10 us direct that
some Of the most noted detectives and
skilled thief-takers in the State openly
speak Of Sacramento county as 4 haven of
refuge for the criminal, who can, by certain
means that are well understood, here make
his acquittal sure if he has money. These
detectives go so far as to declare that con
vietion for anything but miner ofenses is
simply impossible here so long as our iuries
are manipulated as they allege they are.
The people of Sacramento have worked
too hard in building this community, have
toiled too long and overcome too many OBJ
staelea to gain tins heritage. to sit silent
under this bitter reproach. They must EFF
feet reform, speedily, lawfully, orderly
They may endure for a time the singing
eproach that, while lottery agents in San
francisco proceed with great sccresy and
caution. and get are frequently caught and
are punished, in Sacramento they openly
and defantly peddlc and advertise their
contraband wares, make no concealment
whatever of tkeir nefarious business, and
aTe not even notified to cease offending
They may eontinus to endure the open and
notorious daily d awning of lotteries by
Chinese, which whites and Mongols alike
patronile. They may endure yet awhile
The shame chat gambling rooms are main
tanned in the city in Dc fiance of law-State
and munieipal-and despite the fact that
1t has been demonstrated that, when the of
Ulcers choose, they can suppress these resorts,
But the people viii not, cannot afford to
suffer the ignominy that attaches to the
reputation Of being CORFU ,jur, county
athieves' delivery and burglars refuge.
And this reputation is attaching. II is
becoming shamefaily the talk of che
State that juries can be " fixed here for
com; that panels can be put up s suit, AS !
tailors tit clothing that yenires are rs-
turned at times on lists prepared Ia law
yers' offices ; that boxes shaken ungL the
doyetails fairly rattle nevertheless are
made to yield up iuTies whose rerdiets ere
public scandals